Temie Giwa: Employ them (YNaija Frontpage)

Our country is at war and has been for a while and we had no idea, or perhaps we did. Our worries cannot be limited to law breakers, the police are as terrifying as the thieves they are meant to catch. The Nigerian police attack, kill and steal indiscriminately from all Nigerians. They too have nothing to fear.

Just last week, between 25 and 40 students were shot point blank in the dormitories at MUBI. Their names were called out and then they were shot. Imagine the horror of that moment, the panic, not knowing if you are next or if you will be spared. They were all children and they died just like that. Days before this, on Sunday, the Education Minister of Delta State was kidnapped and he has not been heard from ever since. This last week, over in Lagos, armed robbers went on attack sprees. They shot, stole and created a terror soaked atmosphere in Lagos. Nowadays no one is safe in the country. There are now new rules of keeping yourself safe. In Lagos, you must not use an ATM in the evenings; and you are advised not to hang your coat in your car in Lagos. Also, remember not to wear ties in the evening. The rules of safety go on and on.  The brazenness of these young marauders is chilling, they are sure they have nothing to fear and I am willing to agree with them.

Our country is at war and has been for a while and we had no idea, or perhaps we did. Our worries cannot be limited to law breakers, the police are as terrifying as the thieves they are meant to catch. The Nigerian police attack, kill and steal indiscriminately from all Nigerians. They too have nothing to fear.

There are so many reasons why the surface of the past decade has cracked and mutiny and chaos now reign. There is the increasing inequality in the country; as the acquisition of private jets explodes, so has the number of people living on N160 a day. Glaring and vulgar inequality often leads to dissatisfaction and thus chaos especially when the very rich do not even bother to hide their ornate lifestyles. Others argue that corruption has finally caught up with Nigerians and that we are now facing the consequences of all our silences. While there is some truth to that, it does not tell a complete story. There are many ways to explain how we found ourselves in this mess however, one possibly illuminating fact about the new spate of violence is the demography committing these acts of terror.

Three years ago, the Minister of the National Planning Commission publicly stated that about 60 – 70% of the youth population in Nigeria is unemployed.  A country that allows 60 – 70% of its young, hormone filled, and ready to prove their worth to become disengaged and disenfranchised obviously does not care for its safety. A government that lets it happen or allows this to continue indefinitely obviously has no wish to continue existing.

The trend of youth unemployment cuts across all geographical consideration. Youth in the rural and urban area are causing mayhem everywhere they are mainly because have not created a formal and productive way of encouraging them to carve their stakes in their society, so they go about using violence to do so. Youths in the North are causing havoc by joining the dead end that is Boko Haram, the ones in the south are getting more deadly everyday, killing, stealing and drinking wine in the homes they rob, its complete mayhem and everyone ends up paying for it, including you and I. If Nigeria does not find a way to employ these young people, by 2035, when the population is set to double, we will have millions more youth of out a job, and more ready thieves, terrorists and kidnappers.

The #Youwin franchise while a growing and worthy idea, barely even scratches the surface. We need hundreds of huge manufacturing plants. We need better education and roads. We need an actual health and social welfare system. So much is needed and it requires a committed government. 2015 looks far too long to wait.”

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

Comments (4)

  1. Kemi, you make me laugh. What skill do you want to bring? You think Nigeria is seeking someone to come and show her the right way? You will just ruin your life.

    Nigerians don't want to face the truth. We only complain and refuse to take steps…and then we pray(?). I know how hard I've been trying to ask people to start organising and no one does.

  2. Wow! This has made me so sad, but also determined never to give up on Nigeria. I currently live in London, but as my kids are getting older, I am planning to come back to Nigeria to use my skills to help solve some of the many problems we have in this beloved Nation. I love Nigeria and I will do what I can to help make it a better nation, or die trying.

  3. Nigerian should be ready to experience the worst calamity if the issues relating to the the calamities are not address, note that these problems are build under the foundations of our founding father who only develop interest in their families and their regions, in state of making good policies that would consider every body in nigeria as an important citizen, imagine a country where leaders are only concern in stealing from the government pulse in other build estate in the US, south Africa, building refineries out side the country which a state in nigeria cannot afford to build but state governors build more than two refineries out side the country thereby creating jobs for others and nigerian youth are walking on the street suffering. The only reason I blame Boko Haram is that of killing hungry and innocents nigerian who are busy walking on street looking for their daily bread, all these doesn't hurt them but a time will come if the leadership fail to consider the youth by giving them employment, a group will arise that will. be bent to be attacking the government directly, it happen Egypt, the only thing that allow the children Israel to go was the killing of all the first born of the Egyptian,which I'm sure it will happen to all the people who call themselves leaders. I stand to blame the youth mostly during elections, where you see the youth who will have been fighting for their right only to be use in killing other youth for people who after winning the elections will sent their children abroad so that there will come and start from their corrupt ways of leadership. Imagine a country where before getting a job, you be ask, who did you know here? In federal jobs, you will be asked, did you have any body from the house of assembly or senate, then what did you expect the person that doesn't have anybody? Such person can do anything to survive. Imagine a country where graduate are roaming the streets in search for Jobs, yet the government is building more universities to produce more unemployed youth,Education in nigeria is not seen as anything, a situation where our poor parents will spent all their limited resources to sent just one of their child to school after which no job.99% of nigerian are living in poverty and nigeria is a nation where the rich are getting richer and poor are getting poorer everyday. A country where teenager will be sent to prison because of just a stolen phone and a corrupt judge will sentence him/ her to either death by hanging or 20year imprisonment,he claims to known the law regarding that because the is no bribe, when it come to the big Fools who call themselves leaders, that is where you will hear, we are still investigating the matter even when the evidence are seen clear and the case die off like that. This injustices in too much in our country its must be address urgently. The so call nigerian leaders should be ashamed of themselves,because, I have never heard any American indigent seeking

    Citizenship in nigeria even South Africa that nigeria is far richer can never seek citizenship in nigeria, therefore we need leaders that will change our country for the betterment of everybody and also attracts other countries to seek citizenship in Nigeria just like Nigerian are even dying to be citizen in other countries because of wrong foundation, bad and corrupt leadership.I can say these any where, I may be call to

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